Why are wild dogs endangered?

They need very large ranges, which puts them in conflict with farming and traffic outside protected areas, and they are vulnerable to diseases carried by domestic dogs. Fewer than a few hundred survive in South Africa. Bookings at stays linked to the Endangered Wildlife Trust help fund the metapopulation programme that keeps the remaining packs viable.

What is the conservation status of the African Wild Dog?

The African Wild Dog (Lycaon pictus) is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.

Wildlife

African Wild Dog

Q: Where can you see wild dogs in South Africa?

The northern Kruger and the private reserves on its western boundary, Madikwe Game Reserve, and the Zululand reserves including Hluhluwe-iMfolozi and Phinda. Populations in fenced reserves are managed as one metapopulation, so packs move between them over time.

Lycaon pictusEndangered

The African wild dog (Lycaon pictus), also known as cape hunting dog, African hunting dog, African painted dog, painted hunting dog or painted wolf, is a canid native to Sub-Saharan Africa.

from Wikipedia

Showing stays that recordAfrican Wild Dog20+ stays list it on site or nearby

Species insights▾

When to visit

Recorded year-round

Recorded in every month, so no month is the wrong month to look. We would rather say that than invent a best time.

Best monthsAny month

Records1,415 records

Curve from 1,415 national iNaturalist observations, not from one property. Single-month spikes are discarded as upload artefacts, and below 50 records we show no curve at all.

Where you'll find it

Mpumalanga and beyond

Provinces where African Wild Dog is most recorded. Tap one to find places to stay.

Mpumalanga

62%Limpopo

23%KwaZulu-Natal

1,415 records, iNaturalist

Parks where hosts record the African Wild Dog

Places to stay

20+ results in South Africa

Tanda Tula Safari Camp

Limpopo

African Wild Dog recorded here · Savanna biome · 27 birds recorded · Lion, Leopard · Guided walk, Game drives

Price on request

Rhino Ridge Safari Lodge

Hluhluwe

African Wild Dog recorded here · Savanna biome · 285 birds recorded · African wild dog, Spotted hyena · Game drives

Price on request

Rhino Sands Safari Camp

Hazyview

African Wild Dog recorded here · Savanna biome · 30 birds recorded · Leopard, Lion · Safaris, Scenic drives

Supports Zululand Conservation Trust

From R 22,680 per night

Singita Ebony Lodge

Mpumalanga

African Wild Dog recorded here · Savanna biome · 42 birds recorded · Lion, Leopard

Price on request

Singita Boulders Lodge

Mpumalanga

African Wild Dog recorded here · Savanna biome · 43 birds recorded · Lion, Leopard

Price on request

Singita Sweni Lodge

Mpumalanga

African Wild Dog recorded here · Savanna biome · 53 birds recorded · Lion, Leopard

Price on request

Singita Lebombo Lodge

Mpumalanga

African Wild Dog recorded here · Savanna biome · 50 birds recorded · Lion, Leopard

Price on request

Plains Camp @ Rhino Walking Safaris

Mpumalanga

African Wild Dog recorded here · Savanna biome · 224 birds recorded · Aardvark, African elephant · Guided walk, Game drives

Supports BirdLife South Africa

Price on request

Jaci's Private Lodge

Madikwe

African Wild Dog recorded here · Savanna biome · 71 birds recorded · Leopard, Lion · Game drives, Photography

Supports Jaci's Lodge Trust

From R 31,500 per night

&Beyond Tengile River Lodge

Bushbuckridge

African Wild Dog recorded here · Savanna biome · 37 birds recorded · Leopard, Lion · Safaris, Wildlife viewing

Supports Endangered Wildlife Trust

From R 93,000 per night

&Beyond Ngala Safari Lodge

Hoedspruit

African Wild Dog recorded here · Savanna biome · 31 birds recorded · Leopard, Lion · Safaris, Game drives

Supports Endangered Wildlife Trust

From R 37,800 per night

&Beyond Ngala Tented Camp

Phalaborwa

African Wild Dog recorded here · Savanna biome · 31 birds recorded · Leopard, Lion · Safaris, Dining experiences

Supports Endangered Wildlife Trust

From R 52,000 per night

Mdluli Safari Lodge

Hazyview

African Wild Dog recorded here · Savanna biome · 224 birds recorded · Leopard, Lion · Game drives

From R 10,670 per night

Kruger Shalati: The Train on the Bridge

Hazyview

African Wild Dog recorded here · Savanna biome · 224 birds recorded · Leopard, Lion · Safaris, Scenic drives

Supports Endangered Wildlife Trust

From R 17,400 per night

Dulini Moya

Bushbuckridge

African Wild Dog recorded here · Savanna biome · 38 birds recorded · Leadwood, Leopard · Safaris, Scenic drives

From R 28,990 per night

Kruger Untamed - Satara Plains Camp

Marloth Park

African Wild Dog recorded here · Savanna biome · 224 birds recorded · Impala, Spotted hyena · Safaris, Guided walk

Supports Endangered Wildlife Trust

From R 11,980 per night

Kruger Untamed - Tshokwane River Camp

Marloth Park

African Wild Dog recorded here · Savanna biome · 224 birds recorded · Leopard, Lion · Safaris, Guided walk

Supports Endangered Wildlife Trust

From R 17,500 per night

Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park: Mpila Camp

Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park

African Wild Dog recorded here · Savanna biome · 50 birds recorded · Leopard, Lion · Hiking, Game drives

From R 1,420 per night

Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park: Hilltop Camp

Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park

African Wild Dog recorded here · Savanna biome · 50 birds recorded · Leopard, Lion · Game drives

From R 900 per night

Dulini River

Bushbuckridge

African Wild Dog recorded here · Savanna biome · 38 birds recorded · Sausage tree, Leopard · Safaris, Scenic drives

From R 28,990 per night

Dulini Leadwood

Bushbuckridge

African Wild Dog recorded here · Savanna biome · 38 birds recorded · Leadwood, Jackalberry · Safaris, Game drives

Supports Endangered Wildlife Trust

From R 28,990 per night

More stays nearby

Babylonstoren

Klapmuts, Simondium

12 birds recorded · Angulate tortoise, Wild olive · Spa, Vineyards

Price on request

Thonga Beach Lodge

Manguzi

Forest biome · 60 birds recorded · Humpback whale, Southern right whale · Canoeing, Snorkelling

Price on request

La Clé Lodge & Villas

Franschhoek

Fynbos biome · Cycling

Price on request

Plan a trip around these stays

Planning a trip

When and where to find the African Wild Dog

The African wild dog is the rarest large carnivore in the country and, for many guides, the best sighting on offer.

When to go, park by park

Here all yearEasiest viewing

Best months to visit each park where hosts record the African Wild Dog
Park	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Kruger	Here	Here	Here	Easiest viewing	Easiest viewing	Easiest viewing	Easiest viewing	Easiest viewing	Easiest viewing	Here	Here	Here
Sabi Sand	Here	Here	Here	Here	Easiest viewing	Easiest viewing	Easiest viewing	Easiest viewing

Darker months are each park's own best season, when thinner bush or scarce water makes viewing easier. A sighting is never guaranteed.

Best hours of the day

First and last hours of daylight. The African Wild Dog moves and hunts in the cool.
Midday, resting. Usually lying up in shade and hard to spot.
After dark, on a night drive. Where the reserve or park offers one.

Where to base yourself

Ways to look

Drive yourself

Your own vehicle and pace, on the park's roads.

Where hosts record it

Kruger

Guided drives from a lodge

A guide who knows where to look, with off-road and night drives in the private reserves.

Where hosts record it

Sabi Sand Timbavati

IUCN Red List

Endangered

Species

Lycaon pictus

Records

1 415

iNaturalist observations

Every booking on Spekboom supports conservation.

Questions travellers ask

A record means a host has seen the African Wild Dog on the property or nearby. It is never a guarantee of a sighting.

More about the African Wild Dog

The African wild dog is the rarest large carnivore in the country and, for many guides, the best sighting on offer. Packs cover enormous distances, sometimes forty kilometres in a day, so no reserve can promise them. What changes the odds is the denning season. From roughly June to August a pack settles at a den to raise pups, stops moving and becomes findable for weeks at a stretch.

The northern Kruger and the private reserves on its boundary, Madikwe in the North West, and the Zululand reserves including Hluhluwe-iMfolozi and Phinda are where South Africa holds its packs, and the population is managed as a single metapopulation, with animals moved between fenced reserves to keep it viable. That work is run in large part by the Endangered Wildlife Trust, one of the causes stays on Spekboom support.

Wild dogs hunt in the cool of early morning and late afternoon at a flat run, and a pack on the move is impossible to keep up with. Ask at your lodge which way the pack was last seen heading, because with this species yesterday matters more than any season.

When is the best time to see African wild dogs?

The denning season, roughly June to August, when a pack stays put at a den with pups instead of ranging across the whole reserve. Within the day, early morning and late afternoon, when they hunt. Wild dogs are the least predictable large carnivore in the country and a sighting is never guaranteed.

Where can you see wild dogs in South Africa?